Chapter Thirty-Four: Plotting with the Tiger for Its Skin

  "Two brothers, do you still remember what I said before? When the snipe and the clam fight, the fisherman benefits. The war between Da Ming and Da Shun is imminent, and Manchu will definitely get involved. Who knows, maybe at this moment, the great army of Manchu is eager to try, preparing to enter the pass!"

  Sun Cheng and Lu Yong furrowed their brows, exchanged a glance, and couldn't help but say: "Fourth brother, what you said is right, but do we have the ability to turn the situation around?"

  Gu Zhenhua shook his head: "There isn't one now, but that doesn't mean we won't have one in the future! Two brothers, to be honest with you, I insisted on getting silver and weapons from Beijing, just so that one day when the Qing army enters the pass, I can raise a team and fight them to the end. Think about it, when the Mongols invaded China, how many women's first nights were taken away, and as a result, their first child had to be killed, what kind of tragedy is this?! The Hongwu Emperor founded the Ming dynasty and destroyed the Yuan, restoring the Han Chinese, but that was less than three hundred years ago. Do we want such a tragedy to happen again?

  Gu Zhenhua said that when he reached the point of grief and indignation, his fists clenched with a cracking sound, the truly cruel history was laid before his eyes, the more he knew, the more painful it became.

  "Fourth brother, there are some big truths that older brothers don't understand, but I believe in you! Whatever instructions you have, just say it straight out."

  Lu Yong also nodded: "Big brother is right, although we have not been sworn brothers for a long time, but we have gone through thick and thin together. Second brother, listen to him!"

  Gu Zhenhua nodded: "Two brothers, the Qing army will be attacking soon, Li Zicheng definitely won't have time to pacify the local area. You take the soldiers and hide in the mountains to recover from your injuries first. Then, wait for an opportunity to rob those nobles who are transporting gold and silver out of the city, the more you get the better. This is the capital for our future uprising! For hundreds of years, the powerful officials in the capital have hoarded so much wealth, we need to make this money useful on the battlefield!"

  "Well said!" Sun Cheng laughed and said: "That old guy Zhu Chunmin has taken out more than 20 million taels, we haven't gotten them back yet. Besides, the wealth of other meritorious officials is not small either. We have an account in our minds, no matter what, we'll go to each mansion one by one and make sure to squeeze everything out."

  Two people were full of confidence, Gu Zhenhua was also invigorated, and smiled: "I will temporarily send the prince to a safe place, then quickly return, and search with the two brothers."

  "Fourth brother, which road are you going to take?"

  "Tianjin." Gu Zhenhua said without hesitation: "Although the risk at sea is great, as long as we find a few large ships, it's still relatively safe. Either in Shandong or along the coast of Southern Zhili (approximately equivalent to Jiangsu), we can definitely avoid the inspection of the Great Ming Army."

  After the three men had discussed and agreed, Gu Zhenhua returned to the temporary conference room again. The following is the specific division of the four teams:

  Compared to the overall plan, how to allocate personnel is more crucial. After all, this team was temporarily formed and had complex personnel. Gu Zhenhua personally took charge, which might guarantee loyalty, but once they were separated, problems would likely arise. Therefore, how to arrange personnel and how to balance each other out made Gu Zhenhua rack his brains.

  First, Xu Fang escorted his family members from the south of the Grand Canal, and most of the personnel assigned to him were palace guards. The family members mainly came from the Imperial Guard of the Duke's Mansion, and they were unfamiliar with each other, avoiding the possibility of collusion. Otherwise, if the guards and their own family members were arranged together, they might escape with their families or betray them, which would ruin the entire plan. Moreover, this arrangement could also weaken the power of the Crown Prince to the greatest extent, making Zhu Ciye a puppet.

  Those guards were all left to Sun Cheng and Lu Yong, who knew each other well and listened to orders. Moreover, since their families had moved south, they were also a kind of hostage, so there was no need to worry about them disobeying orders. In addition, Gu Zhenhua also left Xie Bin with Sun Cheng and the others to make up for the inadequacy of command.

  Gu Zhenhua was with Gao Hongtu, mainly bringing soldiers from the Jingying camp to protect the crown prince on his journey south. Gao Hongtu was considered the strongest in command among all, and only by putting him by his side could Gu Zhenhua feel at ease.

  After a complex allocation, the loyalty of each team can be basically guaranteed. As for the rest, it depends on fate. Gu Zhenhua invited He Zhonghou to the back again.

  "Zhenhua, everyone has assigned someone to take care of me, I thought you had forgotten about me?"

  "Haha, how can that be? The general is pressing the rear. Sixth Uncle, your burden is not light." Gu Zhenhua smiled and said: "I've already spoken to the two brothers, it's very likely that Manchu will take advantage of the chaos and enter the pass. So those lands and silver are just a thought to calm people's minds. When the situation becomes chaotic, these people will all go to the battlefield to fight the enemy, how can they be rich?"

  He Zhonghou's face changed as soon as he heard it: "Zhenhua, are you saying that you've been deceiving everyone?"

  "The situation is stronger than people, Sixth Uncle. If things really develop according to my estimates, we will have to raise the big flag and confront the Qing dynasty. The antiques and paintings you took to Jiangnan must be sold off, exchanged for silver and grain, and those lands must also be sold."

  "Zhenhua, without land, will those soldiers still listen?"

  "Sixth Uncle, in a chaotic world, with fists, would you still worry about having no land?"

  He Zhonghou was taken aback for a moment, then sighed and said: "I understand, I understand. You're just drawing pictures to satisfy your hunger."

  The old man thought for a moment and then said: "Zhenhua, since the north is going to be chaotic, what should you do with those gold, silver and treasures?"

  "Sixth Uncle, I think we should leave Big Brother and the others behind for now, and transport them to the south in batches. I'll travel lightly with the prince, and make a desperate attempt to escape."

  "Inappropriate!" He Zhonghou waved his hand: "We have over a million taels of gold and silver in our hands, not a small amount. Leaving it for Sun Cheng and the others will only drag them down. If Li Zicheng investigates and finds out, they won't be able to escape even if they want to."

  "Sixth Uncle, have you made up your mind?"

  He Zhonghou smiled and nodded: "It's not a bad idea, let's hand the silver over to the Shanxi draft bank."

  "Do they dare to eat it?"

  "Haha, these old guys have guts as big as a gourd, they don't dare to make any money, just hand it over to them and they'll take 30% off, one million two will be reduced to 300,000 two, not a small amount!"

  Gu Zhenhua had long heard of the great name of Shanxi merchants, who sold military supplies to the Qing dynasty and made a fortune, which was one of the main factors contributing to the downfall of the Ming dynasty!

  Now that he listened to He Zhonghou's words, these people seemed even more greedy and bold than imagined. However, the greedier they were, the easier it was to use them, and Gu Zhenhua already had a plan in mind.

  "Sixth Uncle, give them the money. Don't say three tenths, even half is fine. Sooner or later I'll make them swallow it back and spit it out again!"

  After everything was arranged, Gu Zhenhua and his men immediately set out, with all four groups of people dispatched. At the village entrance, Gu Zhenhua waved his hand high in farewell to a few people: "Everyone take care, we'll meet again!"

  "We'll meet again!"

  Everyone's eyes were a little sour and tears welled up. After a while, they patted their war horses heavily and left in a hurry.

  Sun Cheng and his men went into the mountains with their troops, while Xu Fang first went to Xianghe and then brought along family members who had left the city earlier, heading south along the Grand Canal. As for He Zhonghou, he chose to take the land route, going south to Henan before heading to Jiangsu and Zhejiang.

  Gu Zhenhua led the troops, protecting Crown Prince Zhu Ciyan all the way east, rushing to the Tianjin dock. From Shunyi, they passed through Sanhe and Yutian, running for more than two days in a row. Everyone was exhausted, and old eunuch Kou Gui almost fell off his horse. The inside of the crown prince's thighs were stained with blood, and even Gu Zhenhua's wounds were aching.

  But everyone still gritted their teeth and persevered, just two more days and they would arrive in Tianjin. As long as they boarded the ship, there would be a way to survive. Everyone secretly warned themselves that when they were resting and eating dry rations, suddenly a scout soldier came running over, crawling and tumbling, and said in a terrified tone: "Your Honor, something terrible has happened!"

  "What's going on? Are bandits here to kill us?" As soon as Gu Zhenhua heard this, he suddenly stood up straight and put his hand on the hilt of his sword.

  "No, it's not a bandit, but in front of us there is a large army with tens of thousands of people, covering the sky and earth, and on the flag is written a Wu character."

  Wow!

  Gu Zhenhua's mind was racing, tens of thousands of people, and the surname Wu? That could only be the Han traitor Wu Sangui's Guanning Army! He wasn't at Shanhai Pass, how did he end up here? Had the Qing army entered the pass ahead of schedule?

  "Are you sure?" Gu Zhenhua's mind suddenly became confused:

  "It won't be wrong, it's indeed the Guanning Army."

  Gu Zhenhua's brow furrowed at the words, and the air around him seemed to grow heavier: "Can we avoid it?"

  Ji Hou listened for a moment, then shook his head in pain. By this time, Gao Hongtu was already lying on the ground, his ears pressed tightly against the earth, concentrating intently on listening.

  "Milord, a troop of cavalry is coming!"

  In an instant, the entire team was in a mess. Kou Gui also came over with a trembling gait and said in terror: "Lord Gu, Wu Sangui is probably surrendering to Dashun. When Wan invited him to help suppress the rebellion, he made all sorts of excuses. In my opinion, it's better to get out of here as quickly as possible, the farther the better!"

  Gao Hongtu also said: "That's right, Wu Sangui is definitely not a loyal minister of the Ming Dynasty, and he must not fall into his hands."

  Gu Zhenhua narrowed his eyes, his mind racing quickly, and after a while said: "Two of you, the road is blocked, where can we run to? Everyone is tired and exhausted, how can they be opponents of the Guanning Army?"

  At this moment, Gu Zhenhua's mind was racing. Li Zicheng and Wu Sangui had not yet fought, and it was absolutely impossible for the Qing army to enter the pass. Thinking of this, Gu Zhenhua couldn't help but laugh: "North of the Yellow River, the only one who can rival Li Zicheng is Wu Sangui. Perhaps our way out lies with him."

  Gu Zhenhua's decision was completely unexpected, Kou Guidun was stunned on the spot. He said with a hum: "Master Gu, are you trying to get yourself killed? Don't harm the prince!"

  "Place yourself in death ground and then live!"